Introduction

This is a review of the annual Gastronomic walks in Ladoix (Balade Gourmande) and Savigny-les-Beaune (Savigny en Tous Sens). These two neighboring villages just to the north of Beaune have annual “Balades Gourmandes” or walks of about 5 kms through the vineyards with 7-8 stops to taste local wines accompanied by food of the region. Both walks end with a party including a band, food, wine, and dancing. The Savigny walk always has a sit-down dinner with a 3 course meal of Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) and potatoes, followed by an Assiette de Fromage, and a Tarte de Fruits with Coffee. Both walks take place in July (Ladoix July 7, 2010 and Savigny July 18, 2010), because this is a slow period in the annual cycle of the grower/wine maker, and are promotions of the villages. The biggest difference is the Ladoix walk has 3,000 participants verses only 300 for Savigny. The Savigny walk is much smaller because of the logistics of the sit-down dinner. Both walks require a ticket (45 Euros) which should be purchased long before the events. By the way, if you are interested in Balades here is a link to a web page that lists dozens of balades across Europe each year http://www.baladesgourmandes.com/.

I will give you more information about the Savigny walk because; 1) it was more recent, 2) the booklet is a better record and I have better notes, 3) I like it better. The Savigny walk is a smaller more serious tasting experience and the Ladoix walk is more of a giant party in the vineyards. Maybe the amount of alcohol I drank on the Ladoix walk inhibited my memory a little!

For the walk, Ladoix gives you a useful straw hat and a neck bag for your cutlery and Savigny a napsack and a small bread. In both you get a tasting glass and a listing of the wines for the walk. This year for the first time Savigny did the tasting blind. There was a book to record your notes and only at the end of the walk were you given the "étiquette" (label) to place in your book which revealed the identity of the wines.

Both walks start with a greeting station. Savigny has coffee and chocolate Ladoix has a Kir of Aligote and Cassis and a small band to get the party rocking - after a few favorite French party songs, off you go.

The next stop is for Aligote (the lesser white grape of Burgundy). There were 5 Aligotes in the Savigny walk. Savigny served a small egg & lardon (bacon) tarte. In the flight notes I will list the wines our party rated as tops in each category.

With the blind tasting in the Savigny walk we expected to be able to identify the wine makes based on which wines they were serving. But at the traditional second stop where the White Burgundies (Chardonnay) were served we saw M & Mme Pavelot and they were not serving their wines but other producers, so the wine makers of the village were really in to this little experiment. There were 10 White Burgundies in the Savigny walk and a somewhat smaller number at Ladoix. The Savigny walk served a Salmon mousse and Jambon Persillé (parsley ham).

In the Savigny walk there is a unique stop to taste fresh chardonnay grape juice made by one of the leading village wine makers, M. Bize.

The next stop is the village red wines. In the Savigny walk there were 8 village reds. Ladoix has a somewhat smaller number. In the both walks this was served with a plate of charcuterie (cold cuts).

Up next were the Premier Cru wines. The Ladoix walk served a few Grand Cru wines from Corton. Savigny in fact has no Grand Cru but has more Premier Cru than any other village. Savigny had an amazing 16 Premier Cru wines from 16 different Premier Cru vineyards and producers! This allowed me to taste from many vineyards not easily accessible. In Savigny wines many of the vineyards produce very distinct wines. Savigny served a chèvre (goat cheese) on a piece of baguette. Ladoix had significantly fewer and overall, I was less impressed by the quality on offer. This is the stage at which Ladoix serves the “meal” with a plate of Boeuf Bourguignon and potatoes. Again in the tasting notes I will record our observations.

In the Savigny walk there is a unique station after the 1er Cru and it is sponsored by the Cousinerie de Bourgogne (The Cousins of Burgundy) a brotherly association of local wine lovers. They always pull a couple of great wines from their stocks. This year it was 1988 and 1992 Savigny-les-Beaune both bottled by the Cousinerie. This was served with a petit goût de fromage (a small taste of cheese). On the Ladoix walk we had more 1er Cru wines and an Assiette de Fromage (a plate with 3 cheeses - in this case served in a cheese box!) at a beautiful 12th century church.

Finally, on both walks the penultimate station (one of my favorites after a long hot march through the vineyards) is the Crémant! In both Savigny and Ladoix our favorite Parigot et Richard Crémant was served! It was so crisp and refreshing with a gougère (a small light pastry). Perfect!

Finally, on to either the Château de Savigny or the Château de Ladoix for the finish. In both cases, long tables are set under tents. There is a refreshment stand and a band playing. In the case of Savigny you have a sit-down dinner served family style to you and your neighbors, whom you have had the chance to meet all day long at the various stops! You also get a bottle of wine for every two people at Savigny (in-case you were spitting all day up to this point).

Flight 1 - Aligote (5 notes)

Flight 2 - Blanc (Chardoney) (10 notes)

Flight 3 - Savigny Les Beaune - Village (7 notes)

Flight 4 - Premier Cru (16 notes)

Flight 5 - Cousinerie de Bourgogne (2 notes)

Flight 6 - Creamants (1 note)

Closing

Anyway these events are great fun. If you haven’t done one check out http://www.baladesgourmandes.com/ and do it the next chance you have!